Aug. 16, 2007 — FEMA officials are already in the territory and government agencies are ready for any storm, officials said Thursday at a coordination meeting of the V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency.
As the territory moves into the height of the hurricane season, representatives of government and semi-autonomous agencies and some private entities came together with VITEMA officials to share disaster plans, coordinate preparedness and network for needed assistance.
“We have the support we need from FEMA,” said Jaqueline Heyliger of VITEMA. The hurricane mitigation team is on the ground on St. Thomas and representatives are also on St. Croix, she said.
VITEMA is the governments’ designated emergency-management coordinator. It has assigned each agency an emergency-service function. Many agencies have already implemented emergency-management plans.
WAPA has increased its level of preparedness, said Acting Executive Director Nellon Bowry. Contracts are in place for off-island assistance, which includes contractors bringing additional equipment such as transformers. The agency has sufficient wire and poles, but is short on transformers and expecting a shipment, Bowry said. He asked if VITEMA could assist the agency with generators to operate water pumps in case of a power failure.
The V.I. Police Department is in a state of readiness, reported Lt. Ruby Urgent. Officers will be assigned to 12-hour shifts in case of a storm, and the department has coordinated with other law-enforcement agencies to augment their manpower, she said.
Government agencies should stock up on available sandbags, said Carlos Farchette, deputy chief of enforcement for the Department of Planning and Natural Resources. There are four distribution centers on St. Croix: Cotton Valley, the Grove Place Fire Station and the Public Works compounds at Anna’s Hope and Estate Concordia. There are 21,000 bags available, he said.
Human Services is coordinating emergency shelters, augmented by the Red Cross. Kim Gomez, assistant commissioner, said she was scheduled to do a final walk through of the St. Croix Educational Complex, which could hold up to 1,000 people, and the Claude O. Markoe School, which has a capacity of 800. The two locations would open first in case of an emergency and, if the need arises, the Juanita Gardine School shelter would also open, Gomez said.
Housing, Parks and Recreation has temporary apartments available for residents who lose their homes in a storm, said Assistant Commissioner Dodson James. The D.C. Canegata Recreation Center will be available after the storm, and recreational programs for youth will be ongoing, he said.
Government vehicles are suspended from receiving gasoline on the weekends, with the exception of emergency vehicles, said a representative of Property and Procurement. The agency is pre-placing emergency equipment at critical areas around the island, and contracts are already in place for road clearing and debris removal.
V.I. Fire Service is available for search and rescue and evacuation, and can pump water out of government buildings that experience flooding.
Several agencies have a number of satellite phones in the event of a communication breakdown.
Coordinating efforts to help people who need medical attention are the Juan F. Luis Hospital and Medical Center, along with the Frederiksted Clinic and the Charles Harwood Medical Center. The Harwood center can also house the mentally ill, said emergency spokesperson Dave Davis. The medical facilities will coordinate with the shelters and VIPD to identify and treat patients in need, he said.
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